System and Method of Monitoring Blackout Events

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods of monitoring blackout events are provided. A particular method includes receiving a server blackout event associated with a scheduled blackout of a first media service. The method also includes receiving at least one client blackout event from at least one set top box (STB) affected by the scheduled blackout. For example, the server blackout event and the client blackout event(s) may be received at a subscriber event transmission interface (SETI). The method further includes storing the server blackout event and the client blackout event(s) at a data warehouse.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure is generally related to monitoring blackoutevents.

BACKGROUND

Media service providers, such as television service providers, acquirecontent from content providers, such as television networks, anddistribute the content to subscribers. Some content is subject to accessrestrictions, such as blackouts and other restrictions. Contentproviders may require media service providers to document or otherwisedemonstrate compliance with the access restrictions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a first particular embodiment of a systemfor monitoring blackout events;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a first particular embodiment of a method ofmonitoring blackout events;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a second particular embodiment of a method ofmonitoring blackout events;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a third particular embodiment of a method ofmonitoring blackout events;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a second particular embodiment of a systemfor monitoring blackout events; and

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an illustrative general computer system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In a particular embodiment, a method includes receiving a serverblackout event associated with a scheduled blackout of a first mediaservice. The method also includes receiving at least one client blackoutevent from at least one set top box (STB) affected by the scheduledblackout. For example, the server blackout event and the client blackoutevent(s) may be received at a subscriber event transmission interface(SETI). The method further includes storing the server blackout eventand the client blackout event(s) at a data warehouse.

In another particular embodiment, a blackout monitoring system includesa receiver module to receive a server blackout event and to receive atleast one client blackout event of at least one set top box (STB). Theserver blackout event and the client blackout event(s) are associatedwith a scheduled blackout of a first media service. The system alsoincludes a data warehouse to store the server blackout event and theclient blackout event.

In another particular embodiment, a computer-readable storage mediumincludes operational instructions that, when executed by a processor,cause the processor to receive a server start event and a server endevent associated with a scheduled blackout of a first media service. Thecomputer-readable storage medium also includes operational instructionsthat, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to receive aplurality of client blackout events from a plurality of set top boxes(STBs) associated with a geographic area affected by the scheduledblackout. The computer-readable storage medium includes operationalinstructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processorto generate a blackout audit indicating whether one or more of theplurality of STBs implemented the scheduled blackout.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a first particular embodiment of a systemfor monitoring blackout events. The system 100 includes a plurality ofelements of a media distribution network. As a result of an agreementbetween an operator of the media distribution network and a contentprovider, the media distribution network may prevent certain contentfrom being viewed or otherwise presented within a particular geographicarea. For example, according to contractual agreements with certainsporting event organizations, certain sporting events may not be shownon television in a geographic area near where the sporting event takesplace. Thus, the media distribution network provider may be required to“blackout” the sporting event in that geographic region. In a particularembodiment, the media distribution network provider may blackout certaincontent by showing other content in its place. For example, televisionnetworks (such as ESPN) may provide the media distribution network withseveral data streams of content. To illustrate, a first data stream mayinclude content of a first sporting event and a second data stream mayinclude content of a second sporting event. A particular sporting event(e.g., the first sporting event) may be blacked out by presenting adifferent data stream (e.g., the second data stream including the secondsporting event) to subscribers of the media distribution network thatare within the geographic area affected by the blackout.

In a particular embodiment, blackouts in the media distribute networkmay be coordinated and controlled via a service delivery platform (SDP)102. The SDP 102 may provide a user interface to receive blackoutscheduling and other control information from an operator. In responseto receiving input scheduling or modifying a blackout, the SDP 102 maysend a scheduling request to a super headend office (SHO) 104. Ablackout scheduling module 136 at the SHO 104 may receive the schedulingrequest from the SDP 102. In a particular embodiment, the blackoutscheduling module 136 generates a substitution table 106 based on thescheduling request. The substitution table 106 may include a matrix thatidentifies whether a particular data stream is available in particulargeographic regions (such as in areas associated with particular zipcodes). For example, in a first geographic region, the televisionchannel associated with ESPN may be directed to a first data stream(e.g., ESPN-1). To implement the blackout, the television channel in thefirst geographic region associated with ESPN may be directed to a seconddata stream (ESPN-2). The substitution table 106 may indicate that thechannel associated with ESPN in the first geographic region shouldreceive the data stream ESPN-2. For the sake of clarity, the contentprovider (e.g., a television network, such as ESPN) is referred to as amedia service and a particular data stream of content received from thecontent provider is referred to as a data stream. The media distributionnetwork provider may assign one or more channels to a media service sothat users can locate content from the media service readily. The mediaservice may provide a number of data streams to the media distributionnetwork provider and may specify which data streams may be madeavailable at particular times in particular areas. Thus, thesubstitution table 106 may map a particular data stream to the channelassociated with the media service at a particular time. In anillustrative embodiment, different substitution tables 106 may begenerated for different geographic regions. The substitution table(s)106 may be distributed to end user set top boxes (STBs) in the differentgeographic regions. The substitution table(s) 106 may include dataand/or instructions to direct the STBs to implement the scheduledblackout.

The blackout scheduling module 136 may also generate a server blackoutevent associated with the scheduling request. The server blackout eventmay include information describing the scheduled blackout, such as astart time of the blackout, an end time of the blackout, a data streamto be blacked out, a data stream to be substituted for the blacked outdata stream (e.g., provided in lieu of the blacked out data stream), ageographic region affected, other information descriptive of thescheduled blackout or implementation of the scheduled blackout, or anycombination thereof. In an illustrative embodiment, the server blackoutevent includes a server start event or a server end event. A serverstart event may include data descriptive of the start of a scheduledblackout event as an entry in a media system log file 122 at a datastaging area 120. A server end event may include data descriptive of theend of a scheduled blackout event as an entry in the media system logfile 122 at the data staging area 120.

In a particular embodiment, the substitution table 106 is sent to avideo headend office (VHO) 110 for distribution to one or more set topboxes associated with the VHO 110, such as a first representative STB112 and a second representative STB 114. The STBs 112, 114 may implementthe scheduled blackout by mapping data streams to channels as per thesubstitution table 106. In an illustrative embodiment, when the firstrepresentative STB 112 is tuned to a channel affected by the blackout,the first representative STB 112 may tune from a first data stream (thedata stream to be blacked out) to a second data stream (the data streamto be substituted). The first representative STB 112 may also generate aclient blackout start event to log implementation of the scheduledblackout. Additionally, when the blackout event is over and the firstrepresentative STB 112 is tuned to the channel affected by the blackout,the first representative STB 112 may tune from the second data stream(the data stream to be substituted) to the first data stream (the datastream to be blacked out). The first representative STB 112 may alsogenerate a client blackout end event to log implementation of thescheduled blackout. The client blackout start event, the client blackoutend event, or both may be sent to the VHO 110 for entry in a log file.In an illustrative embodiment, a particular STB 112, 114 may onlygenerate a client blackout event (e.g., client blackout start events orclient blackout end events) when the particular STB 112, 114 is tuned toa channel affected by a scheduled blackout when the blackout starts,ends or is modified. For example, if the first representative STB 112 istuned to ESPN-1 when a blackout starts that substitutes ESPN-2 forESPN-1, the first representative STB 112 may implement the scheduledblackout and generate a client blackout start event. In another example,if the first representative STB 112 is not tuned to ESPN-2 when theblackout ends (i.e., when ESPN-1 replaces ESPN-2), the firstrepresentative STB 112 may not generate a client blackout end event. TheVHO 110 may include an event logger module 138 to receive clientblackout events from the STBs served by the VHO 110 and to store theclient blackout events in a log file.

In a particular embodiment, the system 100 also includes a subscriberevent transmission interface (SETI) 130. The SETI 130 may include areceiver module 132 to receive server blackout events from the datastaging area 120 and to request and receive client blackout events fromthe VHO 110. The SETI 130 may also include a processing module 134 toprocess the media system log file 122 to identify server blackout eventsand to store the sever blackout events in a load-ready file. Theprocessing module 134 may also process a log file received from the VHO110 to identify client blackout events and store the client blackoutevents in a load-ready file. The client blackout events and the serverblackout events may be stored in the same load-ready file or indifferent load-ready files. In a particular embodiment, the load-readyfile(s) have a format compatible with storage in a data warehouse 140.For example, the load-ready file(s) may include a flat file parsed forstorage in an appropriate data table of the data warehouse. In anotherexample, the load-ready file may have a table structure prepared forstorage at the data warehouse 140.

The data warehouse 140 may store the server blackout events and theclient blackout events for retrieval and auditing. In a particularembodiment, the data warehouse 140 includes an auditing module 142. Theauditing module 142 may be used to determine auditing metrics based onthe server blackout events and the client blackout events. For example,the auditing module 142 may determine whether the first STB 112 blackedout a particular data stream of a media service according to thescheduled blackout. The data warehouse 140 may also include aperformance module 144. The performance module 144 may determineswitching metrics of the STBs with respect to the scheduled blackout.For example, the performance module 144 may determine a time requiredfor the STBs to receive the substitution table(s) after the blackoutrequest was received, a time for the STBs to implement the blackout,other statistics associated with implementation of blackouts on themedia distribution network, or any combination thereof.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a first particular embodiment of a method ofmonitoring blackout events. The method includes, at 202, receiving ascheduling request for a scheduled blackout from a service deliveryplatform (SDP) at a super head end office (SHO). The method alsoincludes, at 204, generating a server blackout event associated with thescheduling request for the scheduled blackout. For example, the serverblackout event may be stored in a media system log file. The methodincludes, at 206, generating a substitution table associated with thescheduling request. In a particular embodiment, more than onesubstitution table may be generated. The substitution table(s) are sentto at least one STB via a video head end office (VHO), at 208.

In a particular embodiment, the substitution table is received at a STBand the STB implements the scheduled blackout event by tuning from afirst data stream associated with a first media service affected by theblackout to a second data stream associated with the first mediaservice, at 210. The STB may generate a client blackout start event, at212, when the STB is tuned to the first data stream when the blackoutevent starts. In a particular embodiment, when the STB is tuned to aparticular media service that is affect by a blackout when the blackoutends, the STB returns to a data stream normally associated with theparticular media service. To illustrate, continuing the example above,the STB may retune from the second data stream associated with the firstmedia service to the first data stream associated with the first mediaservice, at 214. The STB may generate a client blackout end event, at216, when the STB is tuned to the second data stream when the blackoutevent ends.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a second particular embodiment of a method ofmonitoring blackout events. The method includes, at 302, accessing aserver blackout event from an event staging area associated with a superhead end video office (SHO), such as the staging area 120 depicted inFIG. 1. In a particular embodiment, the event staging area includes aserver log file that includes data associated with a plurality of serverevents, including server blackout events. The server blackout events mayinclude server start events, server end events, other events indicatingactions taken by the server to implement the scheduled blackout, or anycombination thereof. The server blackout event may be processed, at 304,to form a flat file. For example, a media system log file may be parsedto identify server blackout events and to store the server blackoutevents to a delimited flat file. The flat file may be converted, at 306,into a load-ready file having a format compatible with a data warehouse.The load-ready file may be stored at the date warehouse, at 314, forfuture retrieval or processing.

In an illustrative embodiment, the method also includes, at 308,accessing a staging flat file at a video head end video office (VHO)that serves at least one STB affected by the scheduled blackout. Forexample, the staging flat file may include a plurality of clientblackout events received from a plurality of STBs associated with ageographic area affected by the scheduled blackout. The client blackoutevents may include client blackout start events, client blackout endevents, other events indicating actions taken by the STBs to implementthe scheduled blackout, or any combination thereof. The staging flatfile is processed, at 310, to identify client blackout events. Aload-ready file including at least one client blackout event isgenerated, at 312. The load-ready file may also include client blackoutevents associated with other blackouts, such as blackouts affectingdifferent media services or blackouts affecting different geographicregions. The load-ready file has a format compatible with the datawarehouse. The load-ready file may be stored at the date warehouse, at314, for future retrieval or processing.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a third particular embodiment of a method ofmonitoring blackout events. The method includes, at 402, receiving aserver blackout event 404 associated with a scheduled blackout of afirst media service. The server blackout event 404 may include a serverstart event 406, a server end event 408, another event indicating anaction taken by a server to implement the scheduled blackout, or anycombination thereof. In a particular embodiment, the server blackoutevent 404 may be received at a subscriber event transmission interface(SETI) of a media distribution network, such as the media distributionnetwork described with reference to FIG. 1.

The method also includes, at 410, receiving at least one client blackoutevent 412 from at least one set top box (STB) affected by the scheduledblackout. The client blackout event(s) 412 may include a client blackoutstart event 414, a client blackout end event 416, another eventindicating actions taken by the STB(s) to implement the scheduledblackout, or any combination thereof. For example, a client blackoutstart event may include data indicating when a particular STBimplemented the scheduled blackout by changing from a first data streamassociated with the first media service to a second data streamassociated with the first media service. The client blackout start eventalso indicates that, at a time that the scheduled blackout was to start,the particular STB was tuned to the first data stream and retuned to thesecond data stream to implement the scheduled blackout. A clientblackout end event may include data indicating when the particular STB(or another STB) ended implementation of the scheduled blackout bychanging from the second data stream back to the first data stream. Thatis, the client blackout end event indicates that, at a time that thescheduled blackout was to end, the particular STB was tuned to thesecond data stream and retuned to the first data stream to end thescheduled blackout. The client blackout event(s) may be received from anevent log of a video headend office (VHO) associated with the STB(s). Ina particular embodiment, the client blackout event 412 is received atthe SETI of the media distribution network, such as the mediadistribution network described with reference to FIG. 1. The method alsoincludes, at 420, storing the server blackout event(s) and the clientblackout event(s) at a data warehouse.

In a particular embodiment, the method includes, at 422, determining,based on the server blackout event(s) and the client blackout event(s)whether at least one STB implemented the scheduled blackout. Forexample, the method may include, at 424, determining a location of oneor more STBs that should have implemented the scheduled blackout basedon the server blackout events and analyzing the client blackout eventsto determine whether the one or more STBs implemented the scheduledblackout.

The method also includes, at 426, determining switching metrics of theat least one STB with respect to the scheduled blackout. In a particularembodiment, determining the switching metrics may include, at 428,generating a report indicating whether the at least one STB compliedwith the scheduled blackout. In another particular embodiment,determining the switching metrics may include, at 430, generating ablackout audit to assess whether one or more of the plurality of STBsimplemented the scheduled blackout. Generating the blackout audit mayinclude determining when one or more of the plurality of STBs switchedfrom a first data stream associated with the first media service to asecond data stream associated with the first media service anddetermining a location of the one or more STBs.

In a particular embodiment, the steps of the methods described hereinare executed in the order shown by the figures. In alternativeembodiments, the steps may be executed in alternative sequences.

In conjunction with the configuration of structure described herein, thesystem and method disclosed provide monitoring of blackouts. In aparticular embodiment, server blackout events and client blackout eventsare received and stored in a data warehouse. The server blackout eventsindicate actions taken by a server of a media distribution network toimplement a scheduled blackout. The client blackout events indicateactions taken by one or more set-top boxes to implement the scheduledblackout. The server blackout events and the client blackout events maybe analyzed to determine whether the scheduled blackout was implementedproperly and to provide audit data to demonstrate that the blackout wasimplemented.

Referring to FIG. 5, an illustrative embodiment of an Internet ProtocolTelevision (IPTV) system generally designated 500 is shown. In aparticular illustrative embodiment, a media distribution network asdiscussed with reference to FIG. 1, may include elements of a systemsuch as the IPTV system 500. As shown, the system 500 can include aclient facing tier 502, an application tier 504, an acquisition tier506, an operations and management tier 508, a blackout interface tier578, and an enterprise data warehouse (EDW) tier 582. Each tier 502,504, 506, 508, 578, 582 is coupled to a private network 510; to a publicnetwork 512, such as the Internet; or to both the private network 510and the public network 512. For example, the client-facing tier 502 canbe coupled to the private network 510. Further, the application tier 504can be coupled to the private network 510 and to the public network 512.The acquisition tier 506 can also be coupled to the private network 510and to the public network 512. Additionally, the operations andmanagement tier 508 can be coupled to the public network 512. Further,the EDW tier 582 and the blackout interface tier 578 can be coupled tothe private network 510.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the various tiers 502, 504, 506, 508, 578, 582communicate with each other via the private network 510 and/or thepublic network 512. For instance, the client-facing tier 502 maycommunicate with the application tier 504 and the acquisition tier 506via the private network 510. The application tier 504 may communicatewith the acquisition tier 506 via the private network 510. Further, theapplication tier 504 may communicate with the acquisition tier 506 andthe operations and management tier 508 via the public network 512.Moreover, the acquisition tier 506 may communicate with the operationsand management tier 508 via the public network 512. In a particularembodiment, elements of the application tier 504, including, but notlimited to, a client gateway 550, may communicate directly with theclient-facing tier 502.

The client-facing tier 502 may communicate with user equipment via anaccess network 566, such as an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV)access network. In an illustrative embodiment, customer premisesequipment (CPE) 514, 522 can be coupled to a local switch, router,modem, or other device of the access network 566. The client-facing tier502 may communicate with a first representative set-top box device 516via the first CPE 514 and with a second representative set-top boxdevice 524 via the second CPE 522. In a particular embodiment, the firstrepresentative set-top box device 516 and the first CPE 514 may belocated at a first customer (or subscriber) premise, and the secondrepresentative set-top box device 524 and the second CPE 522 may belocated at a second customer (or subscriber) premise. In anotherparticular embodiment, the first representative set-top box device 516and the second representative set-top box device 524 may be located at asingle customer premise, each coupled to one of the CPE 514, 522. TheCPE 514, 522 may include routers, local area network devices, modems,such as digital subscriber line (DSL) modems, any other suitable devicesfor facilitating communication between a set-top box device and theaccess network 566, or any combination thereof.

In an exemplary embodiment, the client-facing tier 502 may be coupled tothe CPE 514, 522 via fiber optic cables. In another exemplaryembodiment, the CPE 514, 522 may include digital subscriber line (DSL)modems that are coupled to one or more network nodes via twisted pairs,and the client-facing tier 502 may be coupled to the network nodes viafiber-optic cables. Each set-top box device 516, 524 may process datareceived via the access network 566, via an IPTV software platform, suchas Microsoft® TV IPTV Edition.

The first set-top box device 516 may be coupled to a first externaldisplay device, such as a first television monitor 518, and the secondset-top box device 524 may be coupled to a second external displaydevice, such as a second television monitor 526. Moreover, the firstset-top box device 516 may communicate with a first remote control 520,and the second set-top box device 524 may communicate with a secondremote control 528. The set-top box devices 516, 524 may include IPTVset-top box devices; video gaming devices or consoles that are adaptedto receive IPTV content; personal computers or other computing devicesthat are adapted to emulate set-top box device functionalities; anyother device adapted to receive IPTV content and transmit data to anIPTV system via an access network; or any combination thereof.

In an exemplary, non-limiting embodiment, each set-top box device 516,524 can receive data, video, or any combination thereof, from theclient-facing tier 502 via the access network 566 and render or displaythe data, video, or any combination thereof, at the display device 518,526 to which it is coupled. In an illustrative embodiment, the set-topbox devices 516, 524 can include tuners that receive and decodetelevision programming signals or packet streams for transmission to thedisplay devices 518, 526. Further, the set-top box devices 516, 524 caninclude a STB processor 570 and a STB memory device 572 that isaccessible to the STB processor 570. In one embodiment, a computerprogram, such as the STB computer program 574, can be embedded withinthe STB memory device 572. Additionally, in a particular embodiment, theset-top box devices 516, 524 may include a substitution table 571. Thesubstitution table 571 may include information used by the set-top boxdevices 516, 524 to implement blackouts. For example, the substitutiontable 571 may include a matrix mapping data streams to particularchannels or media services.

In an illustrative embodiment, the STB computer program 574 includeinstructions that cause set-top box devices 516, 524 to implementscheduled blackouts based on the substitution table 571. For example,the set-top box devices 516, 524 may tune from a first data streamassociated with a media service to a second data stream associated withthe media service, based on the substitution table 571, to implement ascheduled blackout. The STB computer program 574 may also includeinstructions that cause the set-top box devices 516, 524 to generate aclient blackout event whenever the set-top box devices 516, 524 performactions to implement a scheduled blackout. The client blackout eventsmay be reported to the client-facing tier 502.

In an illustrative embodiment, the client-facing tier 502 can include aclient-facing tier (CFT) switch 530 that manages communication betweenthe client-facing tier 502 and the access network 566 and between theclient-facing tier 502 and the private network 510. As illustrated, theCFT switch 530 is coupled to one or more data servers, such as image anddata servers (“D-servers”) 532, that store, format, encode, replicate,or otherwise manipulate or prepare video content for communication fromthe client-facing tier 502 to the set-top box devices 516, 524. The CFTswitch 530 can also be coupled to a terminal server 534 that providesterminal devices with a connection point to the private network 510. Ina particular embodiment, the CFT switch 530 can be coupled to avideo-on-demand (VOD) server 536 that stores or provides VOD contentimported by the IPTV system 500. Further, the CFT switch 530 is coupledto one or more video servers 580 that receive video content and transmitthe content to the set-top boxes 516, 524 via the access network 566.Additionally, the CFT switch 530 is coupled to one or more blackoutservers 537 that receive substitution tables via the private network 510and send the substitution tables to the set-top box devices 516, 524.Additionally, the one or more blackout servers 537 may receive clientblackout events from the set-top box devices 516, 524 and store theclient blackout events to an event log.

In an illustrative embodiment, the client-facing tier 502 cancommunicate with a large number of set-top boxes, such as therepresentative set-top boxes 516, 524 over a wide geographic area, suchas a metropolitan area, a viewing area, a statewide area, a regionalarea, a nationwide area or any other suitable geographic area, marketarea, or subscriber or customer group that can be supported bynetworking the client-facing tier 502 to numerous set-top box devices.In a particular embodiment, the CFT switch 530, or any portion thereof,can include a multicast router or switch that communicates with multipleset-top box devices via a multicast-enabled network.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the application tier 504 can communicate withboth the private network 510 and the public network 512. The applicationtier 504 can include a first application tier (APP) switch 538 and asecond APP switch 540. In a particular embodiment, the first APP switch538 can be coupled to the second APP switch 540. The first APP switch538 can be coupled to an application server 542 and to an OSS/BSSgateway 544. In a particular embodiment, the application server 542 canprovide applications to the set-top box devices 516, 524 via the accessnetwork 566, which enable the set-top box devices 516, 524 to providefunctions, such as interactive program guides, video gaming, display,messaging, processing of VOD material and other IPTV content, etc. In anillustrative embodiment, the application server 542 provides locationinformation to the set-top box devices 516, 524. In a particularembodiment, the OSS/BSS gateway 544 includes operation systems andsupport (OSS) data, as well as billing systems and support (BSS) data.In one embodiment, the OSS/BSS gateway 544 can provide or restrictaccess to an OSS/BSS server 564 that stores operations and billingsystems data.

The second APP switch 540 can be coupled to a domain controller 546 thatprovides Internet access, for example, to users at their computers 568or via the public network 512. For example, the domain controller 546can provide remote Internet access to IPTV account information, e-mail,personalized Internet services, messaging services or other onlineservices via the public network 512. In addition, the second APP switch540 can be coupled to a subscriber and system store 548 that includesaccount information, such as account information that is associated withusers who access the IPTV system 500 via the private network 510 or thepublic network 512. In an illustrative embodiment, the subscriber andsystem store 548 can store subscriber or customer data and createsubscriber or customer profiles that are associated with IP addresses,stock-keeping unit (SKU) numbers, other identifiers, or any combinationthereof, of corresponding set-top box devices 516, 524. In anotherillustrative embodiment, the subscriber and system store 548 can storedata associated with capabilities of set-top box devices associated withparticular customers. The application tier 504 may also include ablackout branch management server 549 that determines, based on ageographic area information associated with each of the set-top boxdevices 516, 524, which set-top box devices 516, 524 should implementparticular blackout events. Based on information from the blackoutbranch management server 549, appropriate substitution table data may besent to the affected set-top box devices 516, 524.

In a particular embodiment, the application tier 504 includes a clientgateway 550 that communicates data directly to the client-facing tier502. In this embodiment, the client gateway 550 is coupled directly tothe CFT switch 530. The client gateway 550 can provide user access tothe private network 510 and the tiers coupled thereto. In anillustrative embodiment, the set-top box devices 516, 524 can access theIPTV system 500 via the access network 566, using information receivedfrom the client gateway 550. User devices can access the client gateway550 via the access network 566, and the client gateway 550 can allowsuch devices to access the private network 510 once the devices areauthenticated or verified. Similarly, the client gateway 550 can preventunauthorized devices, such as hacker computers or stolen set-top boxdevices from accessing the private network 510, by denying access tothese devices beyond the access network 566.

For example, when the first representative set-top box device 516accesses the client-facing tier 502 via the access network 566, theclient gateway 550 can verify subscriber information by communicatingwith the subscriber and system store 548 via the private network 510.Further, the client gateway 550 can verify billing information andstatus by communicating with the OSS/BSS gateway 544 via the privatenetwork 510. In one embodiment, the OSS/BSS gateway 544 can transmit aquery via the public network 512 to the OSS/BSS server 564. After theclient gateway 550 confirms subscriber and/or billing information, theclient gateway 550 can allow the set-top box device 516 to access IPTVcontent and VOD content at the client-facing tier 502. If the clientgateway 550 cannot verify subscriber information for the set-top boxdevice 516, e.g., because it is connected to an unauthorized twistedpair, the client gateway 550 can block transmissions to and from theset-top box device 516 beyond the access network 566.

As indicated in FIG. 5, the acquisition tier 506 includes an acquisitiontier (AQT) switch 552 that communicates with the private network 510.The AQT switch 552 can also communicate with the operations andmanagement tier 508 via the public network 512. In a particularembodiment, the AQT switch 552 can be coupled to a live acquisitionserver 554 that receives or acquires television content, movie content,advertisement content, other video content, or any combination thereof,from a broadcast service 556, such as a satellite acquisition system orsatellite head-end office. In a particular embodiment, the liveacquisition server 554 can transmit content to the AQT switch 552, andthe AQT switch 552 can transmit the content to the CFT switch 530 viathe private network 510.

In an illustrative embodiment, content can be transmitted to theD-servers 532, where it can be encoded, formatted, stored, replicated,or otherwise manipulated and prepared for communication from the videoserver(s) 580 to the set-top box devices 516, 524. The CFT switch 530can receive content from the video server(s) 580 and communicate thecontent to the CPE 514, 522 via the access network 566. The set-top boxdevices 516, 524 can receive the content via the CPE 514, 522, and cantransmit the content to the television monitors 518, 526. In anillustrative embodiment, video or audio portions, or both, of thecontent can be streamed to the set-top box devices 516, 524.

Further, the AQT switch 552 can be coupled to a video-on-demand importerserver 558 that receives and stores television or movie content receivedat the acquisition tier 506 and communicates the stored content to theVOD server 536 at the client-facing tier 502 via the private network510. Additionally, at the acquisition tier 506, the video-on-demand(VOD) importer server 558 can receive content from one or more VODsources outside the IPTV system 500, such as movie studios andprogrammers of non-live content. The VOD importer server 558 cantransmit the VOD content to the AQT switch 552, and the AQT switch 552,in turn, can communicate the material to the CFT switch 530 via theprivate network 510. The VOD content can be stored at one or moreservers, such as the VOD server 536.

When users issue requests for VOD content via the set-top box devices516, 524, the requests can be transmitted over the access network 566 tothe VOD server 536, via the CFT switch 530. Upon receiving suchrequests, the VOD server 536 can retrieve the requested VOD content andtransmit the content to the set-top box devices 516, 524 across theaccess network 566, via the CFT switch 530. The set-top box devices 516,524 can transmit the VOD content to the television monitors 518, 526. Inan illustrative embodiment, video or audio portions, or both, of VODcontent can be streamed to the set-top box devices 516, 524.

FIG. 5 further illustrates that the operations and management tier 508can include an operations and management tier (OMT) switch 560 thatconducts communication between the operations and management tier 508and the public network 512. In the embodiment illustrated by FIG. 5, theOMT switch 560 is coupled to a TV2 server 562. Additionally, the OMTswitch 560 can be coupled to an OSS/BSS server 564 and to a simplenetwork management protocol (SNMP) monitor server 588 that monitorsnetwork devices within or coupled to the IPTV system 500. The OMT switch560 may also be coupled to a blackout schedule server 565. The blackoutschedule server 565 may receive a blackout request from a blackoutserver 580 of the blackout interface tier 578. For example, an operatormay interface with the blackout server 580 to input data specifying ablackout. The data specifying the blackout may indicate a time of theblackout, a media service affected, a data stream to be blacked out, adata stream to be substituted for the blacked out data stream, ageographic region affected by the blackout, other data related to theblackout, or any combination thereof. In response to the blackoutrequest, the blackout schedule server 565 may generate a substitutiontable based on the blackout request. The blackout schedule server 565may also generate a server blackout event indicating that thesubstitution table was generated and sent to implement the blackout.

In an illustrative embodiment, the live acquisition server 554 cantransmit content to the AQT switch 552, and the AQT switch 552, in turn,can transmit the content to the OMT switch 560 via the public network512. In this embodiment, the OMT switch 560 can transmit the content tothe TV2 server 562 for display to users accessing the user interface atthe TV2 server 562. For example, a user can access the TV2 server 562using a personal computer 568 coupled to the public network 512.

In a particular embodiment, the enterprise data warehouse (EDW) tier 582includes an EDW server 584. The EDW server 584 may access the clientblackout events generated by the set-top box devices 516, 524 and theserver blackout events generated by the blackout schedule server 565 andmay store the blackout events. The EDW server 584 may also analyze theblackout events to determine whether the scheduled blackout wasimplemented correctly and to determine metrics associated withimplementing the scheduled blackout and other scheduled blackouts.

Referring to FIG. 6, an illustrative embodiment of a general computersystem is shown and is designated 600. The computer system 600 caninclude a set of instructions that can be executed to cause the computersystem 600 to perform any one or more of the methods or computer basedfunctions disclosed herein. The computer system 600 may operate as astandalone device or may be connected, e.g., using a network, to othercomputer systems or peripheral devices. For example, the computer system600 may include or be included within any one or more of the servicedelivery platforms, super headend offices, media servers, staging areas,subscriber event transmission interfaces, data warehouses, video headendoffices, set-top box devices, servers, switches, customer premisesequipment, gateways or controllers, illustrated and discussed withreference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 5.

In a networked deployment, the computer system may operate in thecapacity of a server or as a client user computer in a server-clientuser network environment or as a peer computer system in a peer-to-peer(or distributed) network environment. The computer system 600 can alsobe implemented as or incorporated into various devices, such as apersonal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a mobile device, a palmtop computer, a laptopcomputer, a desktop computer, a communications device, a wirelesstelephone, a land-line telephone, a control system, a camera, a displaydevice, a personal trusted device, a web appliance, a network router,switch or bridge, or any other machine capable of executing a set ofinstructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be takenby that machine. In a particular embodiment, the computer system 600 canbe implemented using electronic devices that provide audio, video ordata communication. Further, while a single computer system 600 isillustrated, the term “system” shall also be taken to include anycollection of systems or sub-systems that individually or jointlyexecute a set, or multiple sets, of instructions to perform one or morecomputer functions.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the computer system 600 may include aprocessor 602, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphicsprocessing unit (GPU), or both. Moreover, the computer system 600 caninclude a main memory 604 and a static memory 606, that can communicatewith each other via a bus 608. As shown, the computer system 600 mayfurther include a video display unit 610, such as a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a flat paneldisplay, a solid state display, a cathode ray tube (CRT), or aprojection display device. Additionally, the computer system 600 mayinclude an input device 612, such as a keyboard, and a cursor controldevice 614, such as a mouse. The computer system 600 can also include adisk drive unit 616, a signal generation device 618, such as a speakeror remote control, and a network interface device 620.

In a particular embodiment, as depicted in FIG. 6, the disk drive unit616 may include a computer-readable medium 622 in which one or more setsof instructions 624, e.g. software, can be embedded. Further, theinstructions 624 may embody one or more of the methods or logic asdescribed herein. In a particular embodiment, the instructions 624 mayreside completely, or at least partially, within the main memory 604,the static memory 606, and/or within the processor 602 during executionby the computer system 600. The main memory 604 and the processor 602also may include computer-readable media.

In an alternative embodiment, dedicated hardware implementations, suchas application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arraysand other hardware devices, can be constructed to implement one or moreof the methods described herein. Applications that may include theapparatus and systems of various embodiments can broadly include avariety of electronic and computer systems. One or more embodimentsdescribed herein may implement functions using two or more specificinterconnected hardware modules or devices with related control and datasignals that can be communicated between and through the modules, or asportions of an application-specific integrated circuit. Accordingly, thepresent system encompasses software, firmware, and hardwareimplementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, themethods described herein may be implemented by software programsexecutable by a computer system. Further, in an exemplary, non-limitedembodiment, implementations can include distributed processing,component/object distributed processing, and parallel processing.Alternatively, virtual computer system processing can be constructed toimplement one or more of the methods or functionality as describedherein.

The present disclosure contemplates a computer-readable medium thatincludes instructions 624 (e.g., a storage medium) or receives andexecutes instructions 624 (e.g., via a transmission medium) responsiveto a propagated signal, so that a device connected to a network 626 cancommunicate audio, video or data over the network 626. Further, theinstructions 624 may be transmitted or received over the network 626 viathe network interface device 620.

While the computer-readable medium is shown to be a single medium, theterm “computer-readable medium” includes a single medium or multiplemedia, such as a centralized or distributed database, and/or associatedcaches and servers that store one or more sets of instructions. The term“computer-readable medium” shall also include any medium that is capableof storing, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution bya processor or that cause a computer system to perform any one or moreof the methods or operations disclosed herein.

In a particular non-limiting, exemplary embodiment, thecomputer-readable medium can include a solid-state memory such as amemory card or other package that houses one or more non-volatileread-only memories. Further, the computer-readable medium can be arandom access memory or other volatile re-writable memory. Additionally,the computer-readable medium can include a magneto-optical or opticalmedium, such as a disk or tapes or other storage device to capturecarrier wave signals such as a signal communicated over a transmissionmedium. A digital file attachment to an e-mail or other self-containedinformation archive or set of archives may be considered a distributionmedium that is equivalent to a tangible storage medium. Accordingly, thedisclosure is considered to include any one or more of acomputer-readable medium and other equivalents and successor media, inwhich data or instructions may be stored.

Although the present specification describes components and functionsthat may be implemented in particular embodiments with reference toparticular standards and protocols, the invention is not limited to suchstandards and protocols. For example, standards for Internet and otherpacket switched network transmission (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTML, HTTP)represent examples of the state of the art. In another example,standards for media, media compression and media transmission (e.g.,MP3, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-3, MPEG-4, Windows Media Video, H.264, H.261,H.263, Audio Interchange File Format, WAV, RealAudio, G.719, G.722,G.722.1, NTSC, PAL, NICAM, BTSC, ATSC, SECAM) represent examples ofstate of the art. Such standards are periodically superseded by fasteror more efficient equivalents having essentially the same functions.Accordingly, replacement standards and protocols having the same orsimilar functions as those disclosed herein are considered equivalentsthereof.

The illustrations of the embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of the variousembodiments. The illustrations are not intended to serve as a completedescription of all of the elements and features of apparatus and systemsthat utilize the structures or methods described herein. Many otherembodiments may be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewingthe disclosure. Other embodiments may be utilized and derived from thedisclosure, such that structural and logical substitutions and changesmay be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure.Accordingly, the disclosure and the figures are to be regarded asillustrative rather than restrictive.

One or more embodiments of the disclosure may be referred to herein,individually and/or collectively, by the term “invention” merely forconvenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope of thisapplication to any particular invention or inventive concept. Moreover,although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any subsequent arrangementdesigned to achieve the same or similar purpose may be substituted forthe specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to cover anyand all subsequent adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in theart upon reviewing the description.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided with the understanding thatit will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of theclaims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, variousfeatures may be grouped together or described in a single embodiment forthe purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This disclosure is not to beinterpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodimentsrequire more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather,as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter may bedirected to less than all of the features of any of the disclosedembodiments. Thus, the following claims are incorporated into theDetailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as definingseparately claimed subject matter.

The above disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, andnot restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications, enhancements, and other embodiments which fall within thetrue scope of the present invention. Thus, to the maximum extent allowedby law, the scope of the present invention is to be determined by thebroadest permissible interpretation of the following claims and theirequivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited by the foregoingdetailed description.

1. A method, comprising: receiving, at a subscriber event transmissioninterface (SETI), a server blackout event associated with a scheduledblackout of a first media service; receiving, at the SETI, at least oneclient blackout event from at least one set top box (STB) affected bythe scheduled blackout; and storing the server blackout event and the atleast one client blackout event at a data warehouse.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the server blackout event comprises at least one of aserver start event and a server end event, wherein the server startevent includes data specifying a start of the scheduled blackout event,and wherein the server end event includes data specifying an end of thescheduled blackout event.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at leastone client blackout event includes a client blackout start event,wherein the client blackout start event includes data indicating whenthe at least one STB implemented the scheduled blackout by changing froma first data stream associated with the first media service to a seconddata stream associated with the first media service.
 4. The method ofclaim 3, wherein the at least one client blackout event includes aclient blackout end event, wherein the client blackout end eventincludes data indicating when the at least one STB ended implementationof the scheduled blackout by changing from the second data stream backto the first data stream.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprisingdetermining, based on the server blackout event and the at least oneclient blackout event whether the at least one STB implemented thescheduled blackout.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein implementing thescheduled blackout comprises tuning from a first data stream associatedwith the first media service to a second data stream associated with thefirst media service.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least oneclient blackout event is received from an event log of a video headendoffice (VHO) associated with the at least one STB.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: receiving a scheduling request for thescheduled blackout from a service delivery platform (SDP) at a superhead end office (SHO); generating the server blackout event associatedwith the scheduling request; generating a substitution table associatedwith the scheduling request; and sending the substitution table to theat least one STB via a video head end office (VHO).
 9. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising determining switching metrics of the atleast one STB with respect to the scheduled blackout.
 10. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising generating a report indicating whether theat least one STB complied with the scheduled blackout.
 11. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: accessing the server blackout event from anevent staging area associated with a super head end video office (SHO);processing the server blackout event to form a flat file; and convertingthe flat file into a load-ready file having a format compatible with thedata warehouse.
 12. The method of claim 1, further comprising: accessinga staging flat file at a video head end video office (VHO) that servesthe at least one STB; processing the staging flat file to identifyclient blackout events; and generating a load-ready file including theclient blackout events, wherein the load ready file has a formatcompatible with the data warehouse.
 13. A blackout monitoring system,comprising: a receiver module to receive a server blackout event and toreceive at least one client blackout event of at least one set top box(STB), wherein the server blackout event and the at least one clientblackout event are associated with a scheduled blackout of a first mediaservice; and a data warehouse to store the server blackout event and theclient blackout event.
 14. The system of claim 13, further comprising anauditing module to perform an audit of the server blackout event and ofthe at least one client blackout event to determine whether the at leastone STB blacked out the first media service according to the scheduledblackout.
 15. The system of claim 13, further comprising a processingmodule to process a media system log file to identify the serverblackout event and to store the sever blackout event.
 16. The system ofclaim 15, wherein the receiver module requests and receives the at leastone client blackout event from a video headend office (VHO).
 17. Thesystem of claim 13, further comprising an event logger module to receivethe at least one client blackout event from the at least one STB. 18.The system of claim 13, further comprising a blackout scheduling moduleto receive a scheduling request for the scheduled blackout from aservice delivery platform (SDP), to generate the server blackout eventassociated with the scheduling request and to generate a substitutiontable associated with the scheduling request, wherein the substitutiontable includes data to direct the at least one STB to implement thescheduled blackout.
 19. The system of claim 13, further comprising aperformance module to determine switching metrics of the at least oneSTB with respect to the scheduled blackout.
 20. The system of claim 13,wherein the data warehouse determines auditing metrics based on thereceived server blackout event and the at least one client blackoutevent.
 21. A computer-readable storage medium comprising: operationalinstructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor toreceive a server start event and a server end event associated with ascheduled blackout of a first media service; operational instructionsthat, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to receive aplurality of client blackout events from a plurality of set top boxes(STBs) associated with a geographic area affected by the scheduledblackout; operational instructions that, when executed by the processor,cause the processor to generate a blackout audit indicating whether oneor more of the plurality of STBs implemented the scheduled blackout. 22.The computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, further comprisingoperational instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause theprocessor to request a data file from a data staging area, wherein thedata file includes the server start event and the server end event. 23.The computer-readable storage medium of claim 22, further comprisingoperational instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause theprocessor to modify the data file to form a load-ready file having aformat compatible with a data warehouse and storing the load-ready fileat the data warehouse.
 24. The computer-readable storage medium of claim21, wherein the plurality of client blackout events comprise at leastone client blackout start event, wherein the at least one clientblackout start event indicates that, at a time the scheduled blackoutwas to start, a particular STB was tuned to a first data streamassociated with the first media service and retuned to a second datastream associated with the first media service to implement thescheduled blackout.
 25. The computer-readable storage medium of claim21, wherein the plurality of client blackout events comprise at leastone client blackout end event, wherein the at least one client blackoutend event indicates that, at a time the scheduled blackout was to end, aparticular STB was tuned to a second data stream associated with thefirst media service and retuned to a first data stream associated withthe first media service to end the scheduled blackout.
 26. Thecomputer-readable storage medium of claim 21, wherein generating theblackout audit includes determining when one or more of the plurality ofSTBs switched from a first data stream associated with the first mediaservice to a second data stream associated with the first media serviceand determines a location of the one or more STBs.